An Oasis in a Sea of Hate
by Johnt12345
Summary: Star Wars: Rebels. The crew of the Ghost; Hera, Kanan, Zeb, Sabine, Ezra, and Chopper, get a new mission. They will take a mysterious stranger to an unknown planet. It is a mission that will change them forever. When this mission is over, they will know why they fight. (No category for Rebels so I used Clone Wars.) An Empire-era (AU?) Ahsoka and Lux Bonteri family fiction. Luxsoka.
1. The Ghost Gets a Mission

**An Oasis in a Sea of Hate**

**Chapter One**

**The Ghost Gets a Mission**

(All named characters are the property of Disney.)

The crew of the Ghost was waiting in the city of Aldera, the capital of Alderaan. They always enjoyed being on that planet, with its wonderful views and peaceful forests. While they were waiting for Hera, they decided to visit the city and look around and at least get a decent bite to eat somewhere. That lead them to a small café near the Epicurium that was run by one of the graduates who decided to try her luck running her own place, although she was highly sought after by the management of Latli's. As could be imagined, the food was stupendous, but a bit expensive. However, it was worth it after all that time on spacer rations.**  
**

Now, after having eaten and feeling very satisfied, they were waiting for Hera to get back. She had gone towards the Embassy area to meet with Bail Organa. Zeb was drinking the rich, dark coffee; Ezra and Sabine, the teenagers, were having sweet sodas; and Kanan, being Kanan, was drinking the city's delicious, cold water.

They didn't see any Imperials, which was a relief. There were not many days that that happened. Miraculously, Zeb and Ezra were getting along. That was a rarity in itself. Kanan was relaxed. Only Sabine seemed dissatisfied. Perhaps because there was nothing to blow up and it wouldn't really be good manners to _rakugaki_ a friendly planet. They all wished this peace could last—except for Sabine. It must be a Mandalorian thing.

Later, they didn't see Hera coming up to them until she was close. It was easy on other planets to spot her easily, she stuck out like a sore, whatever that is on your hand, that is, if you have a humanoid hand. But on Alderaan, there were many non-humans, a rarity in this non-human despising Empire. Many Twi'leks and similar Togrutas, Zeltrons, Mirialans, and many others who survived long enough to make it to a safe planet made this one their home. So, she was harder to make out in a crowd.

"All right guys, we've got a new mission," Hera started as she came up to them. "We need to pick up a passenger on Tatooine and take him to another planet."

"Ugh," said Zed, "not Tatooine again. It's too soon after the last time we had to go to that dustball."

"Just one man?" Sabine asked. "He must be pretty important."

"I don't know who he is," Hera answered, "but the request came to me from Bail Organa himself so either he must be important or the mission must be. I can tell you that the pay is really good. It could keep us in fuel for a long time."

"What other planet would that be?" Asked Sabine.

"I don't know. And moreover, I don't think Bail knew either. Apparently, we will know when our passenger tells us somehow."

"I don't like it," said suspicious Zeb. "And besides, how are we to tell who he is in all that flotsam and debris of sentient life forms on that dirtpit of a planet?"

"According to Bail, he will contact us. But if it's from Bail, we won't be swindled or turn-coated."

"Well," said Ezra, "Tatooine might be controlled by the Hutts but at least there aren't any Imperials there. Or at least not that many. But, why couldn't we have met him here?"

"Bail didn't say," replied Hera.

They thought about it for a short time. They didn't like the conditions, but the money, like Hera said, could put them in fuel for a long time—that is, if they made it out of this mission. That was not always a guarantee.

"Well then," said Kanan, always the practical one, "Tatooine it is. Let's get on with it."

Nobody objected so there was accession by silence.

The ragtag crew of the Ghost then headed towards their ship—and their home. It was to be a sad journey leaving this planet.

As they headed towards the Ghost, they were greeted by Chopper in his usual, sophisticated way.

" /$?#€%?+=~," said the droid.

"Where does that rust bucket pick up that language?" Hera thought out loud. "What, did he get a chip from Level 1313 put in him or something?"

"Not from me," Ezra quickly put in.

"Me either," Sabine almost shouted.

"Certainly not from me," Kanan said. Everybody then looked at big Zeb.

"Well," said Zeb and then paused, "What do you expect. You know how well we get along." Now everyone knew where Chopper got his dirty—whatever mouth thing droids have.

"Well, let's get going," Hera said somewhat exasperated. "We'll have to try to fix him later on. There's no time now." With that, the crew entered the ship from the rear ramp. Everyone got to their seats. Hera slid into the pilot's chair as if she was born to fly the Ghost. The others were seated in their usual places but Sabine went back to her quarters to check her weapons and explosives and her _rakugaki_ pistols. With some regrets leaving the planet and loud noise from the engines, they lifted off from the beautiful, but, as yet unknown to them or anybody, doomed planet. Hera smiled as she set the navicomputer for the destination. One thing in this life she loved was piloting the Ghost—and it showed.

Hera guided the ship away from the spaceport. "Take a good look guys," Hera said. "It may be the last time we see anything like this for a long time." Sabine had returned and everybody turned to a viewport to take a last look.

It was beautiful enough city from the ground, but from this height, it was spectacular. They could see the white spires of the city jutting out from the lush, green island in the middle of a lake that seemed to be a part of heaven transposed to the terra of Alderaan. They looked at the city all the way until they could see it no more. The crew of the Ghost then went into hyperspace, headed for no one with a rancor's sense went to willingly.

They were going on a new mission—one that was going to change them for many years.


	2. Zeb Makes a Friend

**An Oasis in a Sea of Hate**

**Chapter 2**

**Zeb Makes a Friend**

(All named characters are the property of Disney.)

Dedicated to Ahsoka114 on Deviant Art for her wonderful work (and for letting me use one of her drawings for my avatar).

—

_The crew of the Ghost then went into hyperspace, headed for no one with a rancor's sense went to willingly._

_They were going on a new mission—one that was going to change them for many years._

Later, on Tatooine, the Ghost landed. It really didn't matter where they were, just as long as they were far enough away from the Sarlacc, and it also didn't matter because this planet looked all the same wherever you went. However, they took care to land a distance away from Mos Eisley so that they didn't get overly noticed.

The crew gathered outside the ship. The suns were beating them down already and they had just barely landed. 'What a place,' thought Zeb in frustration, looking at a herd of Bantha off in the distance, going where he didn't want to go but had to, living on this planet made of dust storms he couldn't understand how.

Soon, everyone assembled in the shade of the ship. Kanan drew a simple map of Mos Eisley on the sand with his finger. There certainly weren't anything like sticks on this wasteland of a planet.

"Okay," started Kanan, more like a military leader, "Let's get into groups. Zeb, you can enter from due north. I will go with Ezra and enter from the northeast side of the town down this street. Hera and Sabine, you enter the town from the northwest down this street." It seemed as if Kanan had been here before. "The faster we can find our ride, the quicker we can get out off this dustball," he continued. "Keep contact lines open. We need to get back here in three hours whether we find him or not. You don't want to be out here when night falls. You'll get lost and the next thing you know, you're inside the Sarlacc. Either that or the Tusken Raiders will find you. If half of what I hear about them is true, I don't know which fate would be worse. Watch for dusters as well. When you see the residents scurrying off to hide, it's best you do so as well. Lastly, and very importantly, do not make eye contact with anyone you pass by in this city. Trust me on this. Any questions?"

"Yeah," said Sabine, "How do we know it's him?"

"According to Bail," answered Hera, "he knows that we are looking for him and what we look like. He also might have a ring of shilium with a solarbenite gem on his left hand. However, there is a code we need. If he says 'Torrent Company,' we answer, 'Rexster.'

"I don't know what it means," said Zeb, "but if it means we get to get the heck off this rock as soon as possible, that's all right by me."

"Wow. He must be rich AND strong to have that ring and be on Tatooine and think he won't have it taken from him," said Ezra. He is one who knew about those things, despite his young age. Nobody knew or cared to ask him why.

Kanan did a double take on hearing those names. He didn't know who or what Rexster was, but he knew of the Torrent Company. It was a name he had not heard in a long time, but he remembered the Torrent Company. They were a company of what were known as 'clone warriors' (whatever that was) who helped the Jedi and who happened to be away from Coruscant when the Jedi Purge occurred by others like themselves. When the Torrent Company heard what had happened, they bolted to a man rather than turn on their friends. He later heard that they split into smaller platoons and started assisting and teaching others to fight the tyranny that was the Empire. They were highly appreciated and they were quite famous inside the Rebellion. And they were number one on Vader's hit list next to any Jedi.

"All right, it seems everything is a 'Go' then," said Hera, startling Kenan out of his thoughts and starting the group towards Mos Eisley. "Chopper, stay with the ship. Keep an eye out on things."

"#%£^$&¥~{€!? /*#," retorted Chopper.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," a frustrated Hera replied. 'How in galaxy's name did I get such a droid,' she thought.

But Kanan wasn't putting up with this little 'dirt-canner'. "You're lucky you don't have a mouth or I'd wash it out with soap," he almost yelled.

" &?!%£?{~*+¥?/+#^€"

"Forget it, Kanan. Let's go," said Hera. "We don't want to stay here arguing with the little trash-mouth can. I don't want to stay on this rock too long. Yelling at him will only attract skanks we don't want to attract."

As she said this, they started to go towards the city. Chopper looked at them as they disappeared. He would watch the ship for them all right. They're the only family he has.

Once they entered the outskirts of Mos Eisley and dirty shops and reckless pit droids came into view, they split up into groups. Zeb took his own path; Ezra and Kanan took off one way, and Hera and Sabine went another.

Zeb started walking the streets of Tatooine, looking for the ride. It made him both sad and angry seeing the debris that collected on this planet. Sad because he knew that if it weren't for the Empire, people would have more choices of what to make of their lives. Angry because he knew that many profited from the tyranny of the Empire and would sell their souls, if they had one, to keep it that way. It is an old story that never changed, no matter what planet or what society—except for a hardy few like Alderaan, with a strong Constitution that was respected, protected, and followed by the people—that the strong and the evil, given half a chance, would rule over the weak or the apathetic. And looking at the population of this planet, there seemed to be a lot of that as well. Nobody wanted to get involved. The more he thought about it, the more sullen he became.

He started to go down an alleyway, but just as he entered the narrow way, someone was coming from the other way. Zeb could not see the face of this person, since it was covered with a cloak. But Zeb, given his thoughts just then, was in no mood to move aside for anybody.

This stranger didn't seem too large. Zeb knew he could take him in one swipe. Or so he thought he could. Zeb didn't notice that the stranger was about to say something.

But before he could, Zeb blurted out, "Out of my way, skin job," his derogatory term for humans when he was in a bad mood. He just barely got along with Ezra on good days. The stranger only stopped and held his arms akimbo. He obviously wasn't going to make way for big Zeb, like all the others do.

"I said, 'Out of my way.' What's the matter, you tired of living?" Zeb said forcefully while bringing his electrostaff to bear. All of the sudden, the stranger did the same. He brought out two staves, each shorter than Zeb's. The stranger then put the two together, and locked them together, as the new, longer staff made a mechanical wheezing sound that told him that no force in this galaxy would separate them. The stranger then hit an end of the staff and electro-pulses came to life at either end.

The stranger held an electrostaff the likes which Zeb had never seen. In addition to being slightly longer than his own, it was also thicker, and the entire staff was made of phrik. The staff itself had no hand guards, like his own, so the stranger could easily move the staff through his hands—although Zeb failed to notice this. He also didn't notice the ring on the stranger's left hand.

The man held the stick in a way unfamiliar to Zeb—not with both hands at shoulder width equidistant from the ends, parallel to the ground, as he had been taught. But this man held the stick off-center at one end and pointing away from him directly at Zeb. Then, suddenly, the stranger hit the end of his staff at the ground again, turning off the purple electro-pulses. Apparently, Zeb was going to get a lesson in staff fighting.

This was a challenge, certainly not one which someone with his stature as a former Honor Guard on his home planet could ignore. Already, they were attracting a small crowd. It was a common enough attraction on this dustball, but it seemed to long timers here that this challenge was going to be one for the books.

First, they probed each other. Zeb struck first with a thrust to the stranger's left. It was swept away easily. Zeb made another quick thrust to the opposite side of the stranger. It too was swept away and the stranger immediately came in with a high lateral swipe to Zeb's head. Zeb easily blocked it. They each made probing thrust and swipes on each other for a half minute. A respite suddenly occurred, as if each were catching their breaths for the fight's climax each knew would come soon.

Then, as if a switch had been thrown, the fight became more intense—more intense than any had seen on this planet in many years. And considering that this was Tatooine, that was saying something.

It started simply. At first, the stranger held his staff at the far end over his head, with the staff pointing down in front of him. Zeb saw this and took it for someone who seemed cowardly, only trying to protect his head. 'Ha,' thought Zeb, 'This is going to be easy money,' and he immediately thrust his staff to the stranger's seemingly unprotected body. The stranger, however, quickly parried Zeb's staff across his own body, turning Zeb around so Zeb lost eye contact with the stranger, who then, switching hands quickly so the staff was behind him, landed a hard lateral roundhouse on Zeb's unprotected upper back.

Zeb was in a fury now. That he started this already in a foul mood didn't help. With his shorter staff he swung in with lateral strikes quickly, aiming at one side and then quickly, much easier with a shorter staff, aiming at the other, then striking a low uppercut to the opposite side. Each time they were skillfully blocked by the stranger. The stranger also swung in with uppercuts, high downswings, and lateral strikes and Zeb blocked them each midstaff or with one of the ends. For each of the swings Zeb tried to land, the stranger blocked them as Zeb did, midstaff or at the near end of the staff, each of which was followed quickly with another strike from a different direction. Hit was soon followed by hit.

Such a ruckus that that city of Mos Eisley had not seen in a long time had started to collect a large crowd. Strike followed hit in such quick succession and with such loudness of metal striking metal, that the din was deafening and some children covered their ears. The fight had moved to a larger area, and more could gather to where the ruckus was. The crowd that had gathered were starting to place bets. Almost all who were half sober or awake and who happened to be around there at this time in the stifling heat of midday Tatooine were watching. Bar keepers and bar denizens flowed out into the street. It seemed that every species in the galaxy had collected in that little area. Duros and Trandoshans, common enough in a hell-hole like this had gathered, as well as Sullustans, Humans, and pretty Twi'lek girls in skimpy clothing.

But the crowd wasn't looking at them. Not when a fight like this was happening.

One struck the other, forcing the opponent back each time. Zeb attacked, forcing the stranger to retreat, only to be attacked himself and to find himself in retreat seconds later. Back and forth they pummeled each other, creating their own dust storm. If either Zeb or the stranger were asked and were truthful in their answers, they would say they had never seen a tougher opponent—Imperial Stromtrooper, Sith assassin, any.

Bets were starting, mostly on Zeb to trounce the puny human. Just then, Kanan, attracted by the loud sounds, saw the fray. He saw the betting all going for Zeb. Even though he wanted to support his friend and crew mate, he could see how this was going to end. He said quietly to a Rodian next to him who was loudly rooting for Zeb, "If I were you, I would put money on the little guy." The Rodian turned around almost laughing, but when he saw the seriousness in Kanan's eyes, he changed his bet for the human. Just in time, too.

Suddenly, the stranger thrust his staff at Zeb, and loosed his right hand from the staff, seemingly weakened. Zeb felt he had his opponent to rights and immediately switched hands on his staff and attacked with a lateral strike to the chest. But before Zeb could land the strike, the stranger in a flash twirled his staff to his right hand and blocked Zeb's lateral midstaff. Zeb was so mad he kept his staff pushing against the stranger, hoping to topple him. But the stranger had a different idea. He then, while Zeb was still pushing his staff, turned the near end of the staff towards Zeb, pushing him off-balance, and before Zeb could do anything, the stranger thrust his staff like a pool cue hard against Zeb's chest, stunning him so much he didn't notice the high roundhouse from the stranger coming for his head.

Zeb had never been hit so hard.

Zeb was in a fury. He seemed to be one big blur of muscle, staff, and anger. The stranger knew he was in trouble. Soon, the bets started going back to Zeb, except for the Rodian, who didn't change his bet but was starting to look very worried.

Zeb's strikes came fast and furious. First a lateral to the left, then a thrust to the chest, then and uppercut to the stomach. All the stranger could do was to block and block again. The stranger knew that to get out of this, it would take a miracle.

For the stranger, that miracle was just about to happen. Zeb had gotten so furious and was moving so fast that he was starting to make mistakes. He was also getting tired. Zeb came in with a high overhead slash, aiming for the stranger's wrist. And he thought he almost disabled the stranger, but he missed by just a hair.

That was the beginning of the end. Zeb decided to go for another strike with a large 360degree twirl of the staff. As he did so, the stranger started to block him, and crouch down, seemingly to give up the fight. Zeb came in with a high roundhouse like the one before, and at first it seemed the stranger was going block his strike midstaff. But suddenly, the stranger moved nimbly to the lateral outside and with the far end of his staff, pushed Zeb's staff hard away—which was easy to do considering Zeb's state. And even quicker, the stranger hit Zeb again using the staff like a pool cue in the chest, startling the big humanoid for a fraction of a second. But that was enough of a distraction to allow the stranger to thrust his staff between Zeb's legs, and using Zeb's left leg as a fulcrum, lifted Zeb's right leg with his long staff, and toppled Zeb over like a large tree. The next thing Zeb knew was that he was on the ground, disarmed, and with a staff pointing at his throat.

"You big lug!" and other similar epithets came at Zeb from those who just lost big. And they were many. Except for a very happy Rodian, who took his winnings and immediately started to drink them away at the closest cantina.

"Torrent Company," said the stranger.

"Well, well, well, Zeb," came the familiar voice of Hera. "Playing with our ride? Don't hurt him too much. He's good money." Zeb could see a big smile on Hera's face.

Zeb was about to get up but he saw an ungloved hand come out from the stranger. He looked at the stranger for the first time. He seemed familiar for some reason. But in any case, the stranger had a compassionate face. Only Zeb could see the face. It was a face he could trust. So he took the hand, but being so big, he had to lift himself up mostly.

"Thanks, puny," Zeb said. "But don't think this is over yet; 'Rexster,'" Zeb ended sarcastically.

"I don't think it is," returned the stranger. "But that is what is important. To learn from your losses so you can fight better again some day."

Zeb could only huff his breath, trying to recover. He started to calm down. "Yeah, that's true," he said, "But how did you make your staff? It is the first kind I've ever seen."

"Maybe later, Zeb," the stranger said, putting his hand on Zeb's upper arm. Since Zeb was so tall that was the only place he could reach. "But for now, I can see we have attracted the wrong kind of attention with our little game. Let's get off this rock before more happens."

Zeb turned around and could see a small platoon of Imperial Stormtroopers getting closer. Zeb's first reaction was to knock some heads, and he had an idea that his new friend was of the same inclination. But with Hera's orders and a little Force distraction by Kanan unknown by the others, the four were able to make a retreat, getting in contact with Ezra and Sabine, who for some reason had wandered off from their teams, as they made their way towards the ship.

**—**

**Whew. I never knew I could write so many words at one time.**

**I am not shipping Sabine and Ezra in this fanfiction. They just happened to wander off separately. I write based on the canon and if the Rebels series has them together, perhaps I might write that in. But this story will most likely be completed by that time.**

**When the stranger puts together the two staves, imagine the mechanical wheezing sound in Revenge of the Sith, when Vader's mask is attached.**

**To write the fight scene, it took almost a month of researching and writing. I hope you think it was worth it. I used quarterstaff fighting materials for that scene. If you have seen the short intro to Zeb on the Star Wars site, you see he uses several short staffs. However, he holds the staff midstaff, a way which was criticized in a youtube video. As you can imagine, with handguards as the staff Zeb is shown using on the intro video, his hands are stationary, whereas the stranger can use the full length of his staff, sometimes with devastating effect.**

**I thought there was an interesting comment in a paper on quarterstaff fighting that, even though the quarterstaff is easy to learn, more invigorating to do, and superior to almost all other weapons not firearms, that the Olympics have 'homogenized' sports so much that if it is not in the Olympics, then people don't do it anymore. Apparently, quarterstaff fighting was very popular pre-Olympics. It might come as a surprise to some that martial arts are not just from Asia.**

**I used several books, articles, and youtube videos (which I transcribed move-by-move) in researching quarterstaff fighting. Of those I used, I would like to acknowledge:**

**The Association for Renaissance Martial Arts for posting Schoole of the Noble and Worthy Science of Defence by Joseph Swetnam. 1617;**

**The Journal of Manly Arts for posting both "Broadsword and Singlestick - with Chapters on Quarter-staff, Bayonet, Cudgel, Shillalah, Walking Stick, Umbrella and other Weapons of Self Defence." by Allanson-Winn, R.G., 1898; and "Quarter-Staff: A Practical Manual," by Thomas A. Mccarthy, 1883;**

**But especially the Davenriche European Martial Artes School (youtube) and the The British Quarterstaff Association for their very informative and great videos on English martial arts. From The British Quarterstaff Association (their own website), the 'Hazel Hill 2007' video and the first 'Barkstripper' video you come to when you scroll down the screen, were especially amazing.**

**Through this study, I have come to appreciate my European heritage more. Thank you.**

**Until we meet again,**

**johnt**

**PS. Please let me know if I need to change the rating because of some words in this chapter.**


	3. The Ghost Crew Has Some Fun

**Here's the latest update for this story. In this chapter, I used a lot of slang. Since the stranger is revealed late in the chapter, I want to give some definitions for the slang here. Most of it is self-explanatory from the context.**

**For numbers, 'looney' (from old slang for a Canadian dollar bill), means one, 'deuce' means two, 'trey' means three, and 'nickel' means five. These are from card playing slang.**

**From aviation slang: 'bogey' is an unidentified aircraft; 'bandit' is an enemy aircraft; 'centurion' means a veteran pilot; 'dash two' is a wingman; 'padlocked' means the target is locked on; 'fur ball' means there are many fighters; 'jinking' means maneuvering violently; 'cone' is the back side of a fighter, in the area of the exhaust; 'bohica' means once again; 'check six' means look directly behind; 'judy' means taking control of the intercept of the targeted fighter, and 'zoombag' means flight suit (or pressure suit in this case).**

**For horizontal positioning, I used sailing terms: bow (front), aft or stern (back), port (left), and starboard (right) and 'hard' means exactly that direction. For vertical positioning (either way, through the length of the ship or across the ship), I used aviation positioning, so '12 o'clock' means directly above and '6 o'clock' means directly below; '10 o'clock starboard aft' means to the right of the ship, halfway to the rear, and up halfway, and '4 o'clock astern' means to the back of the ship and down halfway.**

**The 'Crazy — ' in the story comes from 'Crazy Ivan,' a maneuver by Russian submarines suddenly turning around, sometimes all the way 360 degrees (see, 'The Hunt for the Red October').**

**During the action, I did not write who is saying what most of the time. That is to keep the action flowing. Some you can understand from the context. Just imagine Hera is doing most of the ordering.**

—

**An Oasis in a Sea of Hate**

**Chapter 3**

**The Ghost Crew Has Some Fun**

—

To norik956 for his great stories (and for being the first to review either of mine)

(All named characters are the property of Disney.)

—

In Mos Eisley, the group with the stranger started to make their way back to the Ghost. They had to make a slight detour so the stranger could get a bag from a small, empty room. When they got close to the Ghost, it had already started to get dark. Sabine and Ezra were standing guard outside, keeping an eye on the ship. They already had to chase away a group of Jawas who had their eyes on the Ghost.

However, before they boarded, the passenger took out a device from the bag and was apparently looking for tracking devices. He went slowly around the ship, touched it a few times, and did a circuit of the Ghost with the device. Hera seemed a little upset that he didn't trust her or the ship. When the passenger got back to the group after going around the ship, Hera told him with slight indignation, "You won't find any devices on my ship. We always check for them."

"Did you check on Alderaan?" asked the passenger.

"Yes," Hera answered. To which the passenger held out his hand showing two small devices.

"These are prototype tracking devices the Empire has developed. Detecting devices on the market today cannot sense them."

The crew was stunned. If they had been tracked as far as Tatooine, they had a good idea of what was waiting for them when they tried to get off this planet.

"We'll have to take our chances. A moving target is harder to hit than one that isn't. There's no other way. We need to move now before more come."

The crew of the Ghost hurried onto the ship. Just as a large platoon of Stormtroopers had crested a nearby sand ridge, the Ghost was aloft. They were only able to fire a few shots off but these troopers didn't care, since they knew what was waiting for those Rebels.

After boarding the ship, their passenger, still cloaked, sat back of the command center. All on the ship were wired tight for any action. Everyone had their head on a swivel, looking for bogeys.

Soon enough, as the Ghost left Tatooine's atmosphere, the radar went off. Very loudly.

"Beat to quarters everyone," Hera almost shouted. "We've got bogeys starboard. Can't tell if friend or foe."

Kanan looked hard out of the starboard viewport. Suddenly within seconds, he shouted, "Positive ID on the bogeys. They are bandits!"

"Sabine!" Hera shouted, "Take the aft guns. Kanan take the bow. Ezra, Zeb, spot for them!"

"Hurry. Hurry. Hurry!"

"Don't get get spooled up!" Hera yelled, telling them to keep calm.

Zeb was about to say something.

"They're two and a half clicks away!"

"Ezra, I can see that. Keep your eyes portside!"

"Here they come! We got a centurion leading a nickel. Coming in hot."

"Still out of range! Keep patient!"

"Got a whole squadron right behind!"

"They got a Star Destroyer behind them!"

"In range! Fire!"

Sabine and Kanan fired at the five incoming Tie fighters. One of them exploded.

"Got the dash two"

"Good shooting Sabine"

Another exploded.

"Down to a trey."

"Good job Kanan!"

"Got a deuce port bow, 9 o'clock."

"Here comes a trey 10 o'clock starboard aft. Coming in fangs out like a Togruta."

The passenger, who kept calm during all this as if this was something he did everyday, did a double-take at that. Hera was good, real good, and their passenger wanted her on his team; but the last thing he wanted to do was break up the one before him. They were a great team. They were a mish-mash of different lives but they worked wonders together—each strengthening the other. He was glad they were on the same side.

Sabine and Kanan were firing their guns almost to the breaking point.

"Got 'em padlocked"

"Hit 'em hard!"

"That trey is down to a deuce!"

"Good shooting!"

"Dust that other deuce!"

Just then, several shots hit the Ghost, deflected by the shields, but shaking everyone.

"We're getting hit pretty hard ourselves."

"She'll hold together!" yelled Hera.

Even more hits shook the ship and some wiring started to spark. Chopper got right on it.

"C'mon baby hold together," said Hera under her breath.

The Ghost was surrounded by more Tie Fighters than they had ever seen, even counting the Tie bases they raided. 'Must have a pretty important passenger for this kind of a reception,' thought Hera.

"It's a fur ball out there!"

"Don't goon up on us."

"Got a looney hard starboard."

"I'm jinking the Ghost all I can!"

To the port, to the starboard, up, down, Hera turned the ship. Turning it back on the fighters like the Jedi fighters of old was not a good idea with such a large ship, but she was better than a lot of trained pilots he worked with, the passenger thought.

"I got angle on the centurion hard astern"

"Hit it!"

"Missed!"

"Oh kriffing . . . "

"What's the matter?!"

"The gomer sent off a heater!"

"Send it some music!"

Hera sent a signal to jam the incoming missile.

"No good. Can't shake it."

"It's in the cone!"

"Hold fast!" Hera yelled.

"What you gonna do?"

"Buckle tight! Crazy Bonteri!"

The passenger smiled at the mention of that maneuver, but not before tightening his seatbelt.

"Oh Force. Here we go."

"In the Ghost?! Are you nuts?!"

"Got a better idea?"

"I thought you it said couldn't be done!"

"We got no choice!"

Hera could see a foursome of Ties coming for them directly towards the bow.

"Hurry! Hurry! Do it!"

"Just a moment. Just a moment," Hera said to herself.

"Hurry! Hurry!"

"Just a . . . ." Hera could almost see the helmets in the Ties in front of her. "Now! Hold on!"

Then, just at the last possible moment, Hera hard-turned the Ghost upside down directly back over on the track they came.

"I'm gonna get sick."

"Keep it in!"

"I can't!"

"Then cover your mouth!"

The missile just barely missed the Ghost by inches. The missile couldn't follow quickly enough from the jamming the Ghost gave it and it slammed into a Tie fighter, causing a big enough explosion to take out it and the one next to it, which then slammed against the outside Tie Fighter.

"Got the lead and two bubbas."

"Three-fer-one."

"Let's get back in the fight!"

"Got a foursome 5 o'clock aport!"

"Get 'em! Get 'em!"

"Missed!"

"We're not gonna make it! There's too many of 'em!"

"Yes we are!"

"Head for that moon, Ghomrassen," the passenger said calmly, in a normal voice. To Hera, he seemed to be speaking from another world. Turning to look at him, although she couldn't see who he was, she saw that he was very calm about this and apparently knew more about this than she did. Hera quickly brought the ship on a course towards the small moon. She was soon back in the fray.

"Got a looney 6 o'clock"

"Dang! Wish we had keel guns. Kanan!"

"Got the conehead!"

"Nice shooting!"

There was a sudden, loud beeping.

"What's that?!"

"Our shields are going!"

"Big surprise there!"

"Chopper, see what you can do!"

"& €#=%?\!"

"No back talk!"

Just then, the passenger clicked his wrist attachment. The Ghost, driven by Hera, convulsed all over space trying to avoid the fighters. Their passenger was surprised at how well the crew was doing in all this. He'd seen better men fold under less.

"Got more bogeys on the screen!"

"Friendlies?"

"Better be or we're . . . ."

"Can't tell. Coming in hard aport"

"Were in a pincer!"

"They're friendlies!"

"All right!"

Soon, they were surrounded by as many, if not more, X-and Y-wings than Ties. The space around them became a wall of blue and red laser bolts as fighters from each side fought the other.

"Looks like a lightsaber fight in a phone booth"

"Spank it! Spank it!"

"Good job Red one!"

"We got some tigers on our team."

"Don't gaff off. We still got some Ties after us! Don't tap one of our own!" Hera brought the crew back to reality. Kanan and Sabine were firing the guns their best, trying not to hit a friendly.

"Bohica that centurion."

"He really wants us."

"Where is it?! Where is it?!"

"Check six!"

"There he is!"

"Get a bead Sabine!"

"Judy! Judy! Got it padlocked!"

"Fire! Fire!"

Sabine fired the guns for all she had.

"Good shooting Mando!"

"KM!"

"Whadya expect!" Sabine retorted. "Hope you got a zoombag, helmet head."

Outside, the fight was turning. It had taken a lot of time and more brave lives, but the Rebellion was finally going toe-to-toe with Imperial veterans. It soon became quiet with an occasional X-Wing swooping by. Hera guided the ship closer to the moon, then stopped the Ghost in space, taking a breather.

Then, coming out of nowhere from behind Ghomrassen, a destroyer and some small cruisers of the Alliance suddenly appeared. The Tie fighters were floating trash and the Star Destroyer backed away from the small Alliance fleet. Some of the X- and Y-Wings started heading back home to them. The destroyer reminded Kanan of pictures he saw when he was young of what were then called "Separatist" destroyers.

The man who was a passenger said a silent prayer for the ones who lost their lives, friends and foes. He then asked for a comm-link to the Alliance flagship. "Thanks, Saw," he said.

"Hey Terry," the man, apparently Saw, replied, "You know I always got your back; just like you've got mine. See you on the outside. Have fun! Good sailing Ghost!"

"Thanks," Hera lead the chorus to the flagship, "The Ghost owes you one."

As the flagship veered away starboard, Kanan noticed the mark on its port bow. A mark that looked familiar. Above what seemed a slightly convex swoosh-like arc was a diamond, and below those was a mark that looked like a bird's wing, but not exactly. It was hard to describe. But the last time he saw that mark a long time ago, it was on a women's face.

They all took a little time to gather in the center and catch their breaths. The passenger stayed seated where he was.

"That was some fight," said Zeb.

"Yeah," replied Kanan, "Great spotting."

"Thanks," said Ezra and Zeb also most at the same time.

"Well," interjected Hera after a short interlude, "We still have a mission to complete." Sabine then went around the ship, picking up things, and Ezra went to collect some drinks for everyone and a mop and bucket.

The passenger then told Hera, almost ordered, that he would insert the coordinates for the destination in such a way that the Ghost was no longer her ship. This riled her a bit. This was her ship, after all. She did what she could to get it, maintain it, and keep the crew together.

The passenger pulled out a somewhat large data-chip that had the information for where they were to go. He didn't seem to want to bother with courtesy as he was about to insert the data-chip for the destination. This was a bit too much for Kanan.

"Wait a minute here," he shouted. "You come on this ship after beating up one of our crew members, we just got through a fight like we've never seen for your little mission, and now you act like you own the Ghost. What gives here?!"

All the others of the crew felt the same, except for Zeb, who tried to calm Kanan down. He seemed to remember something. He was a military man and thought some things needed to stay hidden.

"Just who ARE you? I think we have a right to know after having been through that with the Tie fighters and now you're taking us to a planet you're not even bothering to tell us where, without so much as a bye-your-leave or a 'Thank you'? I don't think so. I think we have a right to know who you are and where we are going, not to mention how much danger we'll face again."

"It's OK, Kanan," said Zeb. The passenger smiled at Zeb under the cloak's hood when he said that.

"No it's not OK," answered Kanan. "I think we deserve a little more respect than what we are getting. As the tactical leader of this group, I think we should know." The others seemed to be in agreement with Kanan.

There was a long silence. Other than the deafening silence of space, there was only the occasional beeping of some console.

"Yes, I think you do have that right," said the passenger quietly. "You are a good crew—one of the best I've seen. I suppose because I have been in so many battles recently that I have lost some of my humanity. Yes, I do owe you that." Then he paused. "As for Zeb, I was about to say the code word, but he," the passenger cleared his throat, "um, interrupted me."

Zeb had to smile at this. There was much that he didn't notice on the surface that cost him.

"But I do not blame him. Tatooine has a way of doing that to people, taking away their dignity and pride so much that it is all you can do to keep them any way you can. Zeb's mood showed the despair he was feeling. Concerning where we are going, even I do not know the name of the planet nor where it is. I want it that way. If I were to be caught, there is no telling what the Sith would do to get the secrets in my head. Where this planet is, I do not want to know. As for who I am . . . ."

The passenger then let down his hood and then removed the cloak.

Those who knew who he was and saw him for the first time, Hera and Kanan, stood in silent shock. Hera then smiled largely for the feeling of pride she had. She had never felt prouder of her ship than at that moment for the distinguished passenger they were carrying.

Before them was a human man in his late 30s or early 40s, somewhat tall, broad-shouldered, and solidly built. He had neatly cropped chestnut hair greying at the temples. He was wearing a white uniform that was very clean. There were some insignia and a few, small medals on his left chest. The white tunic was open at the neck, revealing a black turtleneck jerkin. Around the front of the collar of this jerkin were a series of several triangular pieces of some sort. They looked like silver metal, but not exactly. They were set in the collar upside-down then right-side up, consecutively so that they formed an almost solid band around the front of his neck, with just a little black showing between the pieces.

He was a handsome man, stunningly so. So much that Hera felt a little jealous of the woman who put the ring on his finger. His lips were not too thin, and his nose was not too prominent, and between them, a small, greying mustache. He had a small scar on his left cheek but it seemed that his right cheek had exploded from the inside out, leaving a scar in the shape of a 'Y' in the Old Galactic lettering. His eyes were a deep jade color, and seemed to be compassionate, yet far-seeing.

"I'm sorry Admiral Bonteri," said Kanan after he recovered. "I hope you can understand our feelings."

"I certainly do. I am asking you to go someplace none of us know. That's the least I owe you in gratitude," he answered.

There was another long silence.

"Your orders, sir," said Hera quietly. She didn't mind one bit that she was taking orders on her own ship now that she knew who she was taking them from.

"No orders, Captain, just a request. This data chip is a self-contained navigation guide, activated only by my fingerprints. The data will not remain on this ship's system. Once it is inserted, it will guide the ship automatically to where I don't know. It will probably make several zig-zags on the way to our destination. I don't know how long it will take but it shouldn't take more than a few hours. If you don't wish to do this, that is acceptable. I can try this later as well. You will still get the part owed you for up to now, plus, if I have my way, extra for that great show you just put on. The decision is yours."

"What happens when we get there?" asked Sabine. She had heard of the Admiral and many admired him. He was Rear Admiral for the Alliance and was responsible for Alliance Fleet activities for the Mid, Inner and Outer Rims as well as the Expansion Region of space from a few sectors beyond the upper stretch of the Hydian Way, past the Perlemian Trade Route and down to the border with Hutt Space, including such important planets as Salucami, her own home planet of Mandalore, Kashyyk, Raxus, Yavin, Felucia, the sister planets of Shili and Kiros, and, most importantly to him, Onderon.

"For the crew of the Ghost, a little rest and relaxation for a few days," he answered. "For me, . . . ." He smiled wistfully to himself as he lost himself in his thoughts, knowing who was waiting for him.

The crew of the Ghost looked at each other for a short time, assuring themselves of their decision without saying a word. They each nodded their agreement silently.

"Well," said Hera enthusiastically, "it's decided. To a little rest and relaxation we go." Then she said quietly, "But . . . um . . . Admiral. . . about the . . . um . . . Crazy . . . Bon-"

"Oh, that's all right," interrupted the Admiral with a smile. "But next time, you might want to deactivate the gravitation units for the duration of the turn after battening things down. That way, what's inside Ezra stays inside Ezra," he said as he looked towards the boy who was cleaning up his meal from when he was on Alderaan that he 'put' on the floor.

Everyone gave a big laugh to Ezra's complete embarrassment.

"Will do," answered Hera with a big smile.

"May I, Captain?" asked the Admiral, showing the data chip.

"By all means, sir," replied Hera.

With that, Admiral Lux "Terry" Bonteri of Onderon, set the data chip into the ship's navigation system, which then entered the coordinates for the hyperdrive, and after a nod from the Admiral and a simple pull of a lever by Hera, the Ghost was off to a new destination unknown by any of them.

—

**I think some readers might be amused that the Lux Bonteri from The Clone Wars series could be the one depicted here. At his beginning in the series, he was rather wimpish and that unfortunately set his reputation for the rest of the series. You should remember that grown people may actually be quite different compared to when they were young teenagers. This may especially be true during a time of war. During the American Civil War, peaceful farm boys turned into killers. Being thrust into a violent war situation does things to people like Lux here that changes them so much that they become very different than what they hoped. Add to that that he did come from a military family so it would not be surprising that he would also be military; but since he was not large and strong (at least in the series), he would be in an officer position. There will be more set down in this story to explain his background and how he became the person depicted here.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I am about two weeks ahead of schedule in posting this chapter but since I need to do some research for the next chapter, it may be a few weeks until the next posting. Please be patient! johnt**

**PS. I'm sorry if you got the impression that this would be Rex. I will explain the code words in the next or later chapter.**


	4. The Journey of The Ghost Begins

**Author's Note (Please Read): I cleared up some inconsistencies (and demoted the Admiral and removed the reference to Thrawn for my own reasons) so I highly suggest that before you read this chapter that you re-read Chapter Three, "The Ghost Crew Has Some Fun."**

—

**An Oasis in a Sea of Hate**

**Chapter Four**

**The Journey of The Ghost Begins**

—

To OperaVoice93 for letting me help with his story, Chronicles Of Ahsoka Tano.

(All named characters are the property of Disney.)

—

Rear Admiral of the Alliance to Restore Democracy, Lux "Terry" Bonteri was sitting in the co-pilot's seat in the cramped cockpit of the Ghost with Hera in the pilot's seat. He was looking out at the blue of hyperspace. He was sitting deep into the seat with his head resting against the back of the high-backed seat. It was always been relaxing to him, this time in hyperspace, when he was surrounded by the blue waves of another dimension.

They had gotten a communication request almost the very nanosecond they entered hyperspace. All they could see was that it was from Admiral Ackbar, but nothing else. They would have to contact the Admiral as soon as they got out of this hyperspace leg of the trip.

As he was looking out into the soothing blue of hyperspace, he was remembering two times this very scene had relaxed him. The first was on his honeymoon. Even compared to later being chased by the Empire, this was a more tense time for him. Would he be a good husband? Would he be a good father? He remembered, as he was looking out at the blue of hyperspace, that he realized that, in order to be those, he would have to change and compromise, and in doing so, his new bride would become a part of him. That was it. Marriage was a meeting and a melding between the two. Each becoming a part of the other, and through that, becoming not only more than you are then, but a better person. Someone not only for himself, but also someone for her. And he knew that through this, his hopes, his dreams, his aspirations, would become a part of her, just as hers would become a part of him. That's what marriage was. Each giving to the other, and becoming twice as much as you were before. Both the Jedi Council and the Sith talked of the 'power' of the force, as in, 'the force is powerful in you, young one,' and 'you do not know the power of the dark side.' But neither knew the strength of Love.

Then there was another time when he was in hyperspace. He was being chased by the Empire in its early months. Not only by the Empire but by Vader himself. The Admiral didn't know who this was then and he still didn't know even then on the Ghost who this Vader actually was—Vader seemed to appear so suddenly. But he had made himself quite well-feared throughout the galaxy. During the chase, the blue cordon of hyperspace was his shield. As long as he was in this hyperspace, he would be safe. If only he could live his life safe and in hyperspace. But then, that would be no life at all. Certainly he would fear what was at the other end of the exit from hyperspace, but that was something, as a man, he would have to deal with, as many have done before him. Trying to stay in hyperspace would only be trying to keep away from reality. Like the Jedi had done.

Hera was quietly sitting in the pilot's seat next to him, at times looking towards him. She regretted her thoughts earlier towards the Admiral. He was so good-looking. But then, she did have her heart set on a good, and a good-looking, man herself, their 'fearless leader' as she liked to tease him, somewhere in the bowels of the ship doing repairs.

Ezra was resting. Kanan and Sabine were looking after the guns after that narrow escape they just had. Chopper was somewhere taking care of the wiring that burnt out during the fight, all the while probably devising new and, for a droid, fanciful, epithets. Zeb, however, was sitting in the command center behind the cockpit. He looked like he wanted to say something to Admiral Bonteri, but was waiting for the right moment, or the courage, or perhaps both, to disturb the Admiral's peace.

After a while, Admiral Bonteri stirred a little and this seemed to be Zeb's chance to talk with him. He walked up to the Admiral not obsequiously, but as if he was an officer on the bridge of the Admiral's flagship, with shoulders squared and head held high. Looking at the big man walking towards him, the Admiral appreciated that.

"Admiral, if I may."

"Certainly, Zeb."

"About Tatooine . . . "

"I agree, Zeb. I apologize. I should have made it clear earlier I was the person you all were looking for."

Hera gave a light smile at this admission.

"No, sir. It's not that. To tell the truth, I am quite impressed with your skill in the staff. You have a staff I have never seen before and you used it in a way I had never been taught or, in fact, imagined. If I may ask, where did you learn your skill in the staff?"

"Ah, yes. That. It's kind of a coincidence because I was just thinking about the time and events that, more or less, caused me to learn the staff. Are you familiar with pre-Empire history?"

"Not really."

"Myself as well," added Hera. Zen took a seat close by. He had the notion that this was going to be interesting.

"Well, I was part of the League of 2,000 that asked the then Chancellor of the Republic, now Emperor Palpatine, or, as some know him, Darth Sidious, to relinquish the powers he had acquired during the engagement of The Clone Wars."

"Yes. I was a small child when the war was waging," said Hera. "These 'Clones' were, what, humans made artificially?"

"Yes, that's true," said Admiral Bonteri, "but that did not mean they were not men. That they very much were; with the spark of life in them and the dreams of men—especially that the war would end quickly, unlike the droids they fought," returned the Admiral. "I was honored to call them my friends."

"And then," continued Hera, "all of the sudden the war ended and the next thing I learned, the Empire takes over. I remember my mother and father feeling both relieved and scared at this time but I didn't know why. Relieved that The Clone Wars was over, but scared about what what coming."

"And they had every right to be, as events have shown," replied Admiral Bonteri. Hera smiled at this spoken affirmation of her trials. "Well," continued the Admiral, "to make a very long story very short, the Jedi dispatched the leaders of the enemy, Count Dooku and General Grievous."

"I've never heard of them," said Zeb.

"They were the leaders of what were called The Separatists. These were systems that seceded from the Republic, to what was called the 'Confederation of Independent Systems,'—a system, by the way, of which I was a part."

"You were a Separatist? I always thought they were the enemies of the Republic," said Zeb.

"They, or 'We,' were. But like the Republic, we and everyone else were just being fooled with all along by Sidious."

There as a pause in the talk. Then Hera asked, "But what happened?"

"Some months before the start of the Empire, my planet, which I represented for a short time in the Separatist Parliament, was saved from domination from Dooku by the efforts of our Rebel forces and," Admiral Bonteri paused with the glint of a smile but with a sadness in his eyes, "the Jedi. After that, I was a representative in the Republic Senate for Onderon." Hera wondered what it was that caused him to have that conflicted look.

"Wow," said Zeb, "A representative from both sides in the same war. Unheard of. So the Jedi helping to free Onderon is why you name your ships after the Jedi?"

"Yes," continued Admiral Bonteri, "It was just after that when events happened so fast that I am still trying to figure them out. As I said, very suddenly the Clone Wars ended and we presented the petition. I wasn't there to present it because of personal matters, but what seemed moments after the petition was presented, the Jedi were attacked and soon after that the Empire commenced. All but one, the representative from Corellia, of those who had personally presented the petition were soon dead." He paused for a short moment. Then both Hera and Zeb looked to the Admiral to continue.

"Well, the next thing I know, I am being chased by the Empire and someone named Vader. It was ironic, though. One month we are fighting the Separatists, and the next we are allies in the fight against the Empire. Maybe we should all have been Separatists—except for Dooku, that is."

"Why were you being chased?" asked Hera a little concerned.

"Officially, perhaps, because I was a signer of the petition and a traitor to the Empire. Unofficially, because I supposedly knew where some, but definitely one, former Jedi were. When the raid on the Jedi Temple happened, me and that former Jedi did what we could to get anybody out of there. Kanan was one of those," he said as he pointed towards the stern of the Ghost. "We weren't as successful as we hoped, but we did get some out. It was it's own Hell, though, the Temple was, right in the middle of Coruscant."

The Admiral paused for a bit. For herself, Hera was extremely grateful that Admiral Bonteri had helped Kanan survive. He was one of the reasons for her small bit of happiness in this war. Zeb, too, was finding more and more to respect about this man.

"The Jedi were not the villains in this story, like you may have heard again and again. They were just in the way of Sidious, so they had to be destroyed. So," he said, returning to the story, "Even though I was fleeing in hyperspace, the Empire was right there close by when I exited. I was in a diplomatic ship so there was no fighting. All we could do was to get in the escape pods and hope for the best. The Empire usually shoots down those pods but since they wanted me alive, they let most of us go. Fortunately, I was in one that had hyperspace capabilities, but the next thing I know," he said in a frustrated way, "it leaks."

Both Zeb and Hera smiled at the way Admiral Bonteri said this.

"And just my luck, I crash land on Dathomir."

"Dathomir?" said Zeb. Both he and Hera were quite shocked. If half they had heard about that planet were true, a parsec away from that planet was a parsec too close to it.

"Yes," replied the Admiral, "The home of the Nightsisters and the Rancors. If you know anything about the Nightsisters, you know why I decided to take my chances with the Rancors. Someone once told me I wasn't a fighter. I had to become one or die on that planet. As it turned out, there had been a great battle there by Dooku against the Nightsisters, but some of them had returned."

Hera gave out a slight shiver even at the thought of the 'Nightsisters.'

"There were droids, whole and in parts, inactive all over the place," continued the Admiral, "including what were called Magna Guards. These were droids that fought with electrostaffs. Since I was stranded and knew I was going to be there for a long time, I reprogrammed one of the Magna Guards and I practiced with it using the staff. Fortunately, just as I had learned all I could, an opportunity occurred to get away from Dathomir. And none too soon either. The place is soused in evil."

"I see, I see," said Zeb. "So you learned the staff from a droid."

"Yes. And very shortly I began to understand the weaknesses of the electrostaff as they are still," as he gestured to one of Zeb's, "and decided to make my own model."

"And what a staff it is," said Zeb. "If you don't mind, Admiral, I hope to have a few practice sessions with you so I can know better the staff."

"Certainly Zeb," replied the Admiral with a grin. "That is, if you don't mind getting beaten again."

Both Hera and Zeb laughed hard enough almost to be heard across the galaxy.

"Not at all. Not at all," Zeb could barely get out between laughs.

After getting control of herself, Hera then asked something of the Admiral.

"By the way, Admiral Bonteri, about the maneuver that is your namesake . . . . How did that happen?"

"Oh that, oh that. Yes, yes. About a year ago, the fleet was being chased by a group of Star Destroyers. We were in the Kessel system. Well, the commander in charge of the Imperial Fleet didn't seem to be too bright so I tried a pretty simple maneuver on him. I headed for the South Pole of the Garrison Moon orbiting Kessel, with the Imperials right behind. As soon as we passed the pole, the entire fleet did a hard turn right back over the small moon, traversing the North Pole. The hard part was timing the turn so the Imperials couldn't see what I was doing.

Hera and Zeb were quite impressed. Making a turn like that in ships exponentially larger than the Ghost must have been quite a feat.

"The next thing they know I am right behind them and," then the face of Admiral Bonteri saddened deeply and his voice got lower and he said as he leaned forward with his forearms resting on his legs, his hands together at the palms, "We had to do what we had to do."

Even though Hera and Zeb made it their life to make misery on the Imperials, they could feel the sadness of the Admiral, and were quiet in their own thoughts for some moments.

Then, as if it had been timed, the Ghost suddenly exited hyperspace. A thorough radar scan showed they were alone, and, with Hera's permission, Admiral Bonteri quickly contacted Admiral Ackbar before the ship needed to be put back into hyperspace by a signal from the navigation disk.

"How are you doing Terry?" Admiral Ackbar started the communication in his watery voice. "Are they treating you well there on the Ghost?"

Except for Admiral Bonteri, everyone was surprised at this. He didn't tell Admiral Ackbar that he going to be on the Ghost, but there wasn't much he didn't know when it came to his part in restoring democracy to the galaxy.

"Yes," replied Admiral Bonteri looking back at the others, "I am being treated very well." When everyone felt the Ghost come out of hyperspace, the remaining crew had assembled in the command center. They all kind of smiled at the compliment. Hera was whispering something to Kanan.

"That's good to hear," replied Admiral Ackbar. "By the way Terry, is your bag close by?"

"It's right behind the command center. I'll go get it."

"Here it is, Admiral Bonteri."

He looked up at Zeb with a smile as he took the bag from him. "Thank you very much, Zeb. Here it is Admiral."

"Good. Open it and look for a box you didn't put in there."

Admiral Bonteri looked inside the bag and found a small, nice-looking box with a small touch pad on the top. "Admiral Ackbar, is this the box? I certainly didn't put in my bag. I wonder how it got there."

"It was put in your bag before you started packing. I know how you pack so I knew you wouldn't notice it." Hera smiled at the mention of this little personal foible of the Admiral.

"It is opened only by your fingerprints, Terry. Go ahead and open it."

He opened the box quietly. He looked in and then just as quietly closed the box. "Thank you Admiral," he said in a low voice.

"The pleasure is all mine, Admiral. Your action off Maridun certainly deserves this. Our base on Dantooine has been compromised. Thanks to you, we still have a fighting chance."

"Sir, if you don't mind, I would like my wife to . . ."

"Certainly, Terry, certainly. Say hello for me. Our friendship goes back a long time—almost as long as you."

"I will certainly do that, Admiral."

"Thank you and good luck, Terry. Ackbar out."

The image of Admiral Ackbar dissipated. Admiral Bonteri put the box back in his bag without saying anything. The crew was all right with this. Perhaps they would know later if it was their place to know. They were quite surprised at even seeing such a transmission. Much more, that someone as famous as Admiral Ackbar even knew about the Ghost.

Soon, a subdued beeping was heard, informing the crew that they would be back in hyperspace soon. They all got settled for the jump, then to continue their work when they got back in hyperspace.

With complete silence in the Ghost, Hera pulled the lever at the signal from the navigation device, putting the ship back into hyperspace for the last leg of the trip.

—

**Thank you for reading this chapter and sorry for the long wait. I'm so happy I could get it in by May the Fourth.**

**It might have been pretty boring but I hope to make up for it in the next chapter. I was intending to write a longer chapter but I just wanted to let you know that I am still on this story so I put this up quickly. I also will respond to some comments in that chapter as well.**

**As more and more comes out about Star Wars: Rebels, I am starting to understand the characters better. For one, I didn't know how much Kanan was toning down his Jedi roots but the cover of the book "A New Dawn" and other pictures show him with a lightsaber so I am assuming he lets his Jedi self come out at times so the others know. That wasn't the impression I had about Kanan in the Filoni and Company video intro on him.**

**Another is, yes, I am shipping Hera and Kanan. This is because in the new clip, she calls him "our fearless leader" in a sarcastic way as only someone who loves him would say. Also, they seem to have a history together as this new book also shows them back-to-back on the cover and that they might have met each other "several years" (according to Wookiepedia) before. This might be the first interracial couple in the Star Wars canon.**

**I also found it interesting that in the same clip Chopper is a back-talker as he is in this story and that Hera did a Crazy Bonteri to get at some Tie Fighters. She did it much more calmly, though.**

**On the negative side, I am a surprised how claustrophobic the Ghost looks. If most of the show is in that cramped, little ship, I'm afraid there might not be much of a future for the show.**

**Thank you again for reading this and see you again soon. Unlike before where I got ahead of my research, my research has gotten ahead of me. That and since I have to do a paper by the 15th (Canada time), it may be a little while. At best, I hope to get back in a few weeks. See you soon.**

**johnt**


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